


When the Sun Rises

by Heller_Highwater



Category: When The Night Comes (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, Other, non-hunter character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 22:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20919287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heller_Highwater/pseuds/Heller_Highwater
Summary: There's something about this new hunter in town, but Ezra can't put his finger on it.





	1. Quiet Days

He’d heard a lot about this town, how it went from idyllic to nightmarish in the fifteen minutes it took for the golden hour to pass. And that was long before he set down roots, and established his shop.

Hunters came and went in Lunaris, killed, or injured beyond a second chance. Still, he needed someplace to be, someplace to call his own far removed from everything he was trying to escape.

Ezra thought he did well for himself. He had his own business which was thriving, he had friends, loved ones, he had a purpose and many reasons for living, and many reasons to be grateful. And never once did he second guess his desire to pass on the wealth, as it was, to give when so many people had so little. Everyone would question it, he welcomed them to, but money was not why he did it.

He restocked his shelves for the customers expected that morning. It was quiet in town. Almost too quiet.

An ear-splitting smash almost made him drop a fragile crystal. His front door was fractured to pieces around the shapely body of an unfortunate soul.

With that being said, quiet days in Lunaris were suspicious days. _Well, first customer?_

He edged around the desk, magic rumbling in his veins.

“Uh, excuse me.”

The figure popped up, startled and looked at him.

“Hey.”

_Oh no. He’s hot._

“Are you all right?”

“Me? Never better, darling.” He laid in the mess, poised like a masterpiece for a drawing. “Say, do you come here often?”

“This is my shop.”

“Tis?” He looked around, then he plucked a chunk of what had been an oak door off the floor to inspect it.

“Stunning. Oh, the shop’s nice too.”

He sputtered, face burning. Not even Finn laid it on this thick.

Ezra didn’t actually mind.

He stood, and brushed his clothes. Angry yelling sounded from outside shouting all sorts of profanities into the air, ripe enough to curdle fresh milk.

“Oh, I do so hate people who can’t handle their drink. And worse! The ones that blame their bad behaviour on it.” He said, stepping over the ruins into the light. Ezra stayed by the window.

“Don’t grope the barmaid, you sentient clump of dandruff!”

A muted thud, the spectators egged them on.

Ezra recognised the other brawler. He was an unsavoury man in all ways, and it took a lot for Ezra to hate someone. But this man deserved a beating. And by the show if it, he was getting one.

The person he didn’t know bobbed and weaved with finesse, as if the incident from before had occurred when the ruffian from the bar had caught him unawares. The stranger grabbed his arm, spun him into a quarter circle, and tripped him up. The drunkard smashed his face into a wall. The crowd muttered a decisive ‘Oooo’.

He slumped, dragging his face down the wall, smearing it with his blood. The stranger dusted off his hands, and happily strode back to Ezra.

“Better shut your mouth, darling. You’re liable to catch a fly.”

“That was some work.”

“Oh, you flatter me. That was just me taking out the trash.” He said. “Ah, but your door. It wasn’t an ordinary door, true? I sense inscriptions and wards on the fragments, and the smell of… wait, I know this. Citronella?”

“Yes,” he said. “Are you by any chance the Hunter August requested?”

“I might be. Depends on who’s asking.”

“I’m Ezra Lyon, shop owner, witch.”

“Cutie.”

“What?”

“What?”

There went his face again. He was usually more put together than this. He coughed, burning up.

“Only pulling your hair. Yes, I am the Hunter. My name is Lee.” He said. “Allow me to pay for your door. Wherever you get it from, just leave the bill for me at the pub up the road.”

“Thank you, that is generous of you.” He said. “Well, would you like to come in? Properly this time?”

“Oh, you’ve got jokes. Quaint. See if I don’t smash through your back door. Or the roof, for a change of pace.”

Lee stepped through the door, navigating the mess. He bent down and took the open sign off the floor and put it in the window.

“Is it always quiet in this town?”

“Define quiet,” he said in the kitchenette. “Quiet to a city, is Lunaris in the midst of a festival.”

“Hardly any youths from what I’ve seen.”

“Many of the kids leave to explore, to get away from this small town, small thinking. They think you can’t become anything here, which is a shame.”

Lee had a seat on the sofa, arm stretched over the back, long leg crossed over his knee. He was dressed in suitable finery; clothes that were functional, while remaining stylish. _Reminds me of someone._

“Lovely place you have, your own slice of Lunaris.”

“Thank you,” he said, passing the cup to Lee. Their fingers brushed, and while he didn’t feel sparks, he felt something. _Ice. _Like the frosty breath of a blizzard. Ezra’s senses reeled. This was strange, and not a level of strange he was certain he was comfortable with.

“Something the matter, kind witch? You look as if you’ve glimpsed your death.”

“I’m fine.”

Lee raised the cup to his lips, sharp eyes peaking over the rim. Gently he drank, throat bobbing, a pink tongue catching the beads of tea. Ezra watched, ensnared. If he could look away, he wasn’t sure he would.

“Well! Since you’re all right, I don’t have to worry about you keeling over from the excitement now, do I?” He said. “What do you do for fun, kind witch? Is it just you here?”

“No, I’m not—”

As if summoned, the trapdoor rattled.

“That’s… suspicious.” He said.

“A moment.”

Ezra pushed back the rug, and lifted the latch grateful that Finnegan had come. He was not scared of this Hunter, no, far from it. He was only scared of what Lee’s appearance meant for both the organisation and for Lunaris.

The howls in the night had gotten louder, bumps more solid. It had gotten to a point Ezra never left his house after dark, even to collect wildcrafted ingredients. For that, Finn insisted on being the one to go.

Finnegan was debonair as always, thought it hid his unease.

“Well, well, is there one hiding in your cupboards?”

“No. This is my friend Finnegan. Finn, this is Hunter Lee.”

Finn shook his hand, a brief moment of connection.

“You caused quite the ruckus.”

“Why introduce myself through pleasantries when I could just do it in a memorable way?”

Finn retracted his hand, stone features smooth and giving nothing away, but telling Ezra everything he needed to know. Finn was searching deeper.

“Careful little bat, I don’t take well to prodding presences.”

He snapped out of it.

“Huh. You’re definitely not like the others.”

Lee set the cup on the table, legs unfolding and folding. He said nothing, half-smirk in place.

“You’re mistaken. I’m just like every Hunter who has ever been.” He said. “Now, what’s been going on here? I received my formal report of course, but I want to hear from the people living in, and underneath the town.”

“Well, things haven’t been right here, not for a while. The Hunters are at their limits, even August. Typically they could handle the job, and keep the citizens safe, but something else has moved in and doesn’t intend to leave.”

“Hunters have been disappearing,” said Finn. “I typically keep watch at night, even though I’m one of the things they’d hunt. I got people I care about here, and these Hunters are in way over their heads.”

Ezra stared at Finnegan, and he returned it lacking none of his worry and grave concern.

“I’m okay, Finn.”

“Yeah, but for how long, Ez?” He said. “This can’t be an ordinary creature to get the on up on Hunters, right?”

“Right,” said Lee. He out his cup on the table, and stood, head brushing the string lights.

“But this is all better discussed when I’m not bone tired. I’ll see you in the morning then, and you, well, Finnegan, I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Count on it. If you fall to the beast, I might just start to go hunting myself.”

“You’re cute. So cute.”

Lee picked up his jacket, and headed out, but stopped when someone had entered the store.

“Hello!”

She looked up at Lee, then at Ezra and Finnegan.

“Good evening,” said Ezra. “Can I help you?”

Lee shuffled out the door, trying not to draw attention to himself.

“Yes, I was hoping you could help me. I’m looking for someplace to stay the night at least. My room in the pub is curiously booked.”

“And who are you?”

“I’m Hunter Lee. Augustus Willenheim called for me to deal with the nocturnal threat.”

Ezra readied his magic, and Finn had his claws out.

“Oh, I do wish you hadn’t turned up,” said the other Lee, and vanished in a puff off blue smoke.


	2. Magnus

They would not give the imposter the chance to run and hide.

Ezra fled into the night with Finn and the real Hunter Lee, on the pursuit of the stranger. He was something else though, running faster than Finnegan could catch up; his stride devoured the forest ground, a gait like a cheetah from Ezra’s home country.

“Split up,” said the real Hunter Lee, and she diverted through a path as if she had known it her whole life.

“Ezra,” said Finnegan, “you get in contact with August. I’m going to get this bastard myself.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah.”

“Be careful,” he said, slowing to a stop. Ezra’s chest heaved, sweat coated his brow. This was a fight for magical beings that defied logic, and the laws of nature. He was just a humble witch, a small cog in the giant machine.

Ezra summoned an orb of teal light to illuminate his path. August’s headquarters weren’t far from here, a little down the road, turn right by the fallen oak, and then left into the upper half of the town. He remained on guard, swearing not to trust anything that tried to get his attention.

Who was the man Finnegan was hunting? And why had he tried to pose as the real Hunter Lee?

There was no question to his skill, as apparent as it was from the little demonstration he showed with the drunken brawler, and then with his means of escape. If anything, he was understating it by a mile and a half, choosing to appear as he did, someone who resorted to hand to hand to deal with a threat, but stockpiled his energy for emergencies.

He cast a spell to locate August. The trail led him northward, but not too far away, maybe in the fields watching the trainees or just scouring the grounds.

“August!” he called.

They turned to him, hands behind their back and aloof. August quirked a brow, and excused themselves from the conversation with two others.

“Ezra,” they said. “What is it?”

“The Hunter you requested is chasing after someone who pretended to be her. I don’t know what his angle is, but Finnegan’s giving chase now through the forest.”

A moment of silence, then they called to a Hunter and relayed the message. He was able to ask for a better description of where they were headed, but a beam of blue light tore through the darkness.

“That’s him.”

“Go,” they said to their Hunters. And they set out armed for all manner of battle.

“Without the tincture, I cannot help. Damn it, why now?”

“Leave it to your Hunters. They should be able to capture him.”

August wasn’t satisfied with ‘should’. They stuck a hand in their pocket, drawing out the vial Ezra had prepared. There was a moment of consideration, a moment to weight the pros and cons, the drawbacks and the costs to boosting their magic.

The sounds of battle echoed into the dense night. The imposter was giving as good as he got. Finnegan needed help.

Ezra pressed forward, but August held his arm.

“I’ll be needing another one of these soon, Ezra.” And they downed the last dregs of the tincture.

The air was charged, electricity prickling his skin. August was a force to be reckoned with, but was held back by the unspoken laws of magic.

Magic wasn’t infinite. You could only access what was within your body, and the amount available was wholly up to your skill and level, how much practice you put in pushing at the tedious barrier. August had put in the hours, and so too did Ezra, though he paled in comparison to August.

They followed their Hunters into the forest, alerted by the dull thuds of fighting and the muted grunts of someone getting punched. They had the imposter surrounded, but he had already take out several of August’s best.

“Finn!”

The vampire was on one knee holding his side. The scent of cold metal perfumed the air. He was hurt.

“Look, I understand I made a terrible mistake, but you must let me go,” said the imposter.

“Let you go? Impersonating an officer of the law in any city or town is an indictable offense. You aren’t going anywhere.”

August lashed out with their magic, pale blue and freezing like frostbite. The imposter retaliated, erecting a shield to block the bolt. He was smug, and August hated it.

“You’re struggling, even I can see that, General, but I am not killer. If you wanted me in chains, all you had to do was say so, maybe ask for a safeword.”

“Silence.”

He grinned, but disarmed his magic. He held out his arms, and a Hunter closed the distance and clamped the shackles on his wrist.

“Kinky, and you haven’t even introduced yourself properly.”

“The better question is,” said Hunter Lee. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m you, but better. So much better.” He said. “Run home little Hunter, this town will only be your grave.”

They had captured the imposter, and locked him in a cell. August stared him down, and Ezra watched, while Finnegan stuck to the shadows at August’s insistence.

“Ready to talk?”

“I’m ready to do a whole lot more now that I get to see you in the light. Nice boots.”

August grinded their teeth. This was going nowhere.

“He’s clearly not gonna talk,” said Finnegan. “Just be prepared to keep him here indefinitely.”

“What is it that you want?” said Ezra.

The imposter looked at Ezra as he gripped the bars. A gold signet ring flashed its opulence. Finn stiffened, and squinted at him. But quickly, the imposter retracted his hand.

“I know that sigil,” he said.

“Don’t you have to go and suck something, little bat? Tis a nasty wound you have there.”

“What is it?” said August.

“The emblem of the royal family from Solaris. Only the crowned princes and princesses wear it, so unless you stole that too, I’d say you’re a royal.”

He sighed. “My name is Magnus, and I am indeed the crowned prince. But I’m also fourth in line to the throne, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“And why are you here?”

“To bring home the body of my best friend, the Hunter you called before Lee. She came here at your behest and with her King’s blessing, but I haven’t heard from her since. We traded letters of correspondence via falcon as often as we could, and she spoke of a witch, and his ‘friend’. She spoke of everyone. Then, one day, the letters stopped coming, and I knew I had lost her.” He said. “If you could point her grave out to me, I’ll be out of your luscious hair by the end of the week.”

“And you expect me to believe any of that?”

“No, but it is the truth. All the letters are in my bag. Before she left, we researched Lunaris, and the history of cases the Hunters had tried to solve, beginning with the influx of paranormal activity that occurred about two years prior. Look, all I’m saying is that Hunters alone will not solve this job. I need to bring her home, and if I cannot do that I will put her spirit to rest and solve the case for her.”

“Then why the ruse?”

“Hunters are privy to special information, you know this General. I wanted to see how she was treated, if her threat had a human connection. Maybe she had stepped on someone’s toes in the pub. It would make sense, yes? She was not trusting of anyone she didn’t already know, and like hell she’d trust a beast enough to let it kill her.”

“So you thought it was me?”

“I figured you had something to do with it. You are too kind, too… too. You breezed in offering her a cup of tea, and advice about Lunaris, then your vampire friend here probed her mind as he did me. You were her first line of contact, but as I learned you’re just syrupy. And unnaturally helpful.”

“I swear to you, I had nothing to do with her disappearance.” He said. “Truth be told, I’ve spoken to too many of the Hunters when they come to me for supplies, things they think will provide an edge. I watched them all leave my shop and never return.”

“Then let me find her!”

“And if you go missing?”

“So what? My parents have four other heirs to rule. She was _my _friend, and I owe her this. Do not deny me the chance to make things right.”

August inhaled, and lifted their chin. “Or what?”

“You can never beat me in a fight, General. You’re overworked, and your magic only comes when it wants. You can’t control it. But I didn’t even break a sweat yesterday. I can keep going, and going and going while you chug your vials of magicka.”

“Hunter Lee is here.”

“She will die like all the others! I hope that the blood on your hands starts to stink, Willenhiem, because it seems to be the only way for you to notice that nothing is making sense.”

The door to the upper dungeons clanged, and Finnegan departed before the sun’s light could lengthen any further.

Ezra said nothing on his way back to the shop, walking above ground as Finnegan tread under it through the catacombs.

He drew up short at the front of his shop. Workmen were installing a new door. State of the magical arts.

“You’re Mr Lyon, right? Sign here.”

“What is all this?”

“Hunter Lee requested and paid to have your door fixed. The finest from Solaris. Oak with holly wood inlay, and a stained glass window.”

Ezra signed, and the workman tipped his head.

“Hi!” said Omen as he stepped through, testing the swing of the door.

“I hope you haven’t gotten into my sweets, Omen.”

He flustered, a lump in his mouth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t. Omen, you know chocolate makes you feel weird.”

“But it also makes me feel really good.”

Omen burned the wrapper, and sat in the middle of the shop’s floor surrounded by pillows and his journal.

“What happened last night? Alkar told me something went down in the forest, a big showdown.”

“We had an unexpected visitor,” he said. “But I suppose it’s been dealt with. August knows what they’re doing, right?”

Omen’s brown eyes flitted across the room, his tail twitching.

“Do you _reeeally _want me to answer that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Okay, so I know they’re your friend, but August is not handling this well at all. They keep calling new Hunters from all over, and then we don’t hear from them ever again. Ask Alkar. Ask him how many have passed through the forest and encountered something nasty. The answer is all of them. More Hunters are gonna die, Ezra and when we run out of those, who do you think think beast will come after?”

He put the kettle on the stove, and searched his tea box for a strong brew. Omen was right, of course he was. And Magnus was also right.

Ezra gripped the counter, and pressed a hand to his head.

“Ez, you okay?”

“No, I’m not. I cannot stand to have any more people die. Not citizens, not Hunters and certainly not crowned princes.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

He moved the kettle off the stove, and grabbed his scarf. “Hold down the shop for me, Omen. I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be here.”

“August, you seriously need to reconsider.”

The Enforcer signed their papers, and handed them off to their subordinate. August hadn’t given him much consideration since he came into his office.

“Ezra, for the last time, I will not have the crowned prince of Solaris’s death on my hands.”

“So you acknowledge the threat is real and that people are dying? Your own Hunters—”

“I know!” they said, whorls of blue energy scarred the walls. They had such a finicky leash on their magic that they had become a servant to it, instead of a conduit in control.

The glowing etchings faded, and August put their face in their palm. Their tiredness was palpable then. The pen shook in their hands.

Ezra covered them with his own, and poured enough magic to will the shakes away.

“We are dying, August,” said Ezra. “And it is clear your Hunter are not enough.”

They looked up, dark circle under their eyes.

“I have tried, but Harold insists that we should be the ones to deal with this mess. It is a Lunaris problem, only fair that it be paid in Lunarian blood.”

“That… makes no sense, August.”

“He is adamant. Now this prince has turned up, with the potential of making this into an international incident. You’re right, I am in over my head.”

“Then let the prince do what he must.”

“And if he dies?”

“And if he lives?”

August sighed, bone weary.

“If I agree to this, certain conditions must be met. First of all, since you vouch for him, I ask that you keep an eye, possibly give him to Finnegan.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Good. Secondly, I want daily reports of his goings-on, from him, you and Finn. I want to know where he is at all times, what he’s doing, what he’s not doing and the hours he sleeps.”

“Done.”

They nodded. “Thank you, Ezra, for being the voice of reason inside my muddled head.”

“I am always here for you, August, you know that.”

“It is both your greatest feature and your most annoying one.”

They stood, a bit wobbly but held firm.

“I better get down there before he flirts with the guards and they release him. The pig.”

“I have never seen you turn that colour, Gus.”

August gave him a scathing glared. “Do you want the prince freed or not?”

Ezra held up his hands, and zips his lips.

“That’s what I thought.”

He followed August to the dungeons again. The guards manned the outside of the door.

“I’m here to see Magnus.”

The guard on the left was a mote confused. “I’m sorry, General, Magnus is no longer here.”

“What?”

“He was released this morning, and put into the guardianship of an armed escort. He is returning to Solaris.”

“At Harold’s request?”

“Yes, General.”

August turned to Ezra. “The prince has been freed. I suppose that’s that.”

“Oh,” he didn’t hide his disappointment. “Well, we better put out efforts into the real Hunter Lee then.”

“Yes, we better.”

Ezra cast one last glance at the dungeons, foreboding weighing heavily on his shoulders.


	3. A Shell on the Beach

Hunter Lee was as skilled as the others, and in no way disillusioned by the task she was faced with.

From the start, Hunter Lee began her investigation in the graveyard, where she cautiously befriended Omen, and then Finn, as their first introductions had been less than stellar. Finn took no chances with Hunter Lee and probed her mind, and though he had encountered a brick wall, he was adamant on keeping his eyes on the Hunter.

Ezra stroked Finn’s hair as he laid in his lap.

“With Omen and I working with Lee she stands a better chance.”

“How long has it been since she started working?”

“Week and a half, give or take.”

Finn sat up, and turned to Ezra on the sofa. He held Ezra’s face in his hand, one side cool, the other warm metal.

“You need to ease up on the worrying, Ez. You’re adding grey hairs to your witch streak.”

“I can’t help it. Lunaris is my home and it’s no longer safe. Lee is just one person.”

“No, she’s just one of many. We’re all in this together now.”

The kiss was soft, and what he needed to ground him back to reality, but on a better side of it.

Reluctantly he pulled away. “I um, better get back to the shop.”

“Yeah, and I better make sure everything’s where I left it. God knows what trouble my lot gets to when they time I’m not watching.”

Finn gave his hands a squeeze, and disappeared into the trapdoor. Inhaling deeply until his chest burned, Ezra exhaled his fears, his worries and his apprehensions.

There were boxes that had to be dealt with. Crates of spices and herbs, and crystals for the Lunar festival coming up.

The door rang, it could do that now; it hummed when a stranger appeared on the other side, or it made a gentle tinkle when a friend touched the handle.

Hunter Lee ducked her head in, a wide grin on her stunning face. She wasn’t without her scars, but they made her more alluring.

“Good morning, Ezra. Why the long face?”

“Coco got into the catnip this morning.”

“Oh dear. She’s as high as a kite now, isn’t she? My kind of gal.”

He leaned against the counter. “Tell me, fair Hunter, what can I do for you?”

“Just came to stock up on some more supplies, you know how it is. I burn through healing potions like a drunkard does for a pint on eternal refill.”

“Of course,” he said. “Have you had something to eat? I mean, besides what they serve at the tavern, not that there’s anything wrong with the food—”

A strong hand settled on his shoulder, and she smiled.

“Ezra, breathe for me.” She said. “I’d heard stories about witches becoming overwhelmed by the influx of negative energy surging through town as of late, but to see it up close… Listen to me, you’re going to be all right.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about. It’s you, it’s Finn, August. Everyone. Lunaris feels sick, and it’s clinging to my skin like tar. Worse of all, it is like an all-encompassing miasma. It has no origin, no end. It just is.”

“How about I make you my specialty, and we take it to eat near the beach? Omen can watch the shop for a bit.”

“I can’t, there’s too much—”

“Ezra, you’re running on fumes. How do you expect to serve people from an empty vessel?” She said. “An hour with you is all I ask.”

He closed his eyes, and nodded. “Yes, that sounds divine, thank you.”

“Good. I’ve been wanting to have my own cooking for a while. The tavern’s food has most certainly clogged my arteries.”

“You must come over more often and have dinner with me.”

“I’ll do that.”

He parted the curtain for her and she headed straight to the kitchenette, and slapped his hands away when he tried to help.

“Out!”

“But this is my house,” he laughed.

“Are you saying you don’t trust me not to burn something?”

“Well…”

“That was one time, Ezra. Honestly.”

She grated cabbage and carrots and mixed it into a bowl with a raw egg. With one pan on the stove, she added a globule of butter, and put four slices of bread in to soak it up and get a little toasty.

“You don’t speak about where you’re from very often.”

“Forgive me for that, but with the prince and all, and those letters he spoke about, I wasn’t sure to trust,” she said. “Like Magnus, I’m from Solaris. Actually, I knew the friend he spoke of, but only through word of mouth. She was a beast at what she did. Had to be, you know? Protecting the royal heirs is no easy task.”

She removed the toast and added the egg mixture to fry into a large omelette.

“The prince is indeed one of the last in line for the throne, so he has more freedom. He and Brie were the best of friends, but position and duty didn’t allow them to become anything other than that. When the letters stopped coming, we all knew. The prince just faded. He didn’t want to do anything but find her, so his sister arranged something with their parents. I cannot imagine how he feels returning home empty handed.”

She wrapped up the food into some waxed parchment, and plucked a canvas bag of fruits out of her satchel.

“Now, where do you wanna go? The park? The beach?”

“How about right here?”

“But you don’t leave here at all, Ezra. That’s not healthy.” She said. “Let’s just go to the pier or something, and get some fresh air. Maybe if I find some good shells, I can make you a necklace. Whaddya say?”

She offered a hand to him, small but strong and skilled. He took it and allowed her to pull him off the sofa.

“Beach it is,” he said. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. For taking me in, for being my anchor. You’re a real gem, Ezra.”

They went hand in hand to the beach, shoes off as soon as the paved roads gave way to the loose golden sand.

Lee set her basket under a tree, and Ezra said a little spell to keep the birds away from above their heads.

With a groan that ripped straight from his soul it seemed, he dropped onto the sand, and stretched his legs out. Perhaps he could get some kelp later.

He leaned against the tree as she scoured the shore for the right shell. She had found many, but none were ever good enough.

“Too small, too big. This one’s broken. Hmmm.”

“I’m not picky you know.”

“But I am. No, I insist that you have the best necklace I can make.”

She bent down, sun illuminating her hair. There was an innocence to her Ezra wanted to protect, but knew it wasn’t his place, his right. She was a trained Hunter and August knew what she could do. Lee was not helpless, not a damsel to rescue. She was here to work.

Lee ran towards him, pants rolled up to her knees.

“Okay, I found three possible contenders. Which one do you like?”

“They’re all so beautiful. Hmm, this one.”

“Excellent choice. The witch has chosen!” She said, holding it up to the sun. “Now, I’m starving. Try your sandwich!”

He tentatively bit into it, and the butter coated his tongue, and the sugar contrasted the saltiness. She had layered some ketchup on, and it all came together differently, but not wholly unpleasant.

“It’s very good!”

Yes!” she said, and collapsed into the sand. “I can die happy knowing you like my food.”

“That won’t be for a long time yet.”

She said nothing, but continued smiling.

They ate in companionable silence, and shared a flask of tea. Ezra needed this time to get away, but a window never opened to allow it, or rather, he ignored all the gaps in his schedule to ensure everyone else was all right. That Finn was safe, that Omen hadn’t gotten into the chocolates, that Alkar didn’t have a bounty on his head and the August didn’t exhaust themselves to death. Lee was right, he couldn’t serve from an empty vessel. Once in a while he had to be selfish with himself.

But selfishness was a trait he abhorred vehemently.

They wasted the hours under that tree, face to face under the shade, his hand on her cheek.

“You’re quite lovely, you know that?”

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re uh, not too bad yourself.”

He laughed, she was adorably awkward.

“Thanks. Means a lot coming from you.”

Their foreheads touched, sharing air and heat and a life. Ezra had gone down the wrong path. He had fallen for a Hunter.

And Finn allowed it. _The utter gall. _

How dare he be a good friend and enable Ezra’s vices? How dare he suggest that the three of them could have something they always wanted?

A family.

“I’ve come to care deeply for you, Hunter.”

“And I you,” she said. “It’s getting late. I’ve got to report to August for tonight’s shift.”

“All right. Let’s head out.”

They gathered their things, only leaving behind the imprint of their bodies and their footprints, the only proof that they had ever been there.

Ezra left Lee at the tavern, and kissed her palm. Anything other than that, and he wouldn’t want to leave.

“Tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow,” he promised, and bid her goodnight.

He walked back to his shop in the final minutes of dawn. The door swung open without him having to touch it, and Omen greeted him from behind the counter, no sweetie wrappers in sight. Only his journal and a pencil.

“Hey, how did it go?”

“It was amazing,” he said. “And just the thing I needed.”

“Good. You were looking a bit run down, but you wouldn’t have listened to me if I told you to take a break. You’d be all like, ‘But who will stop you from eating chocolate to death?’ And then I’d feel guilty, which would make me eat more chocolates, which would in turn make your grey streak wider.”

“Hmm, you seem all too aware of your bad habits, Omen.”

“Have you met me?”

A rough laugh. “Okay, okay, someone’s being a bit bold today.”

“Mhmm. It’s what happens when I’m separated from my beloved chocolate for too long.”

Ezra held up his hands. “I didn’t see anything, but you know where Finn is if you need him. I’m going to sleep.”

“Night. I won’t be too long here.”

He nodded, and headed up the stairs.

Ezra soaked in a tub of Epsom’s salts, candles lit and incense filling the air. How he needed this. Needed to refill his empty vessel.

But of course, everything was too good to be true. As always.

An explosion rattled his section of Lunaris, and a column of fire and smoke rose into the air.

“Lee.”

He cast a spell to remove the excess water from his skin, and snapped his fingers. His clothes glided on, and he shoved on his boots.

Ezra tore down the stairs careful not to trip.

“Finn, what’s going on?”

“Don’t know.”

“Well I have to know.”

He raced out into the street as fast as his legs aided by magic could carry him. It was eerily in the direction of August’s patrols, where Lee would be.

_Please god no. Not her. Not now!_

He bounded over fallen logs and around stones that hid entrances to the catacombs. Finn burst out of the ground and ran alongside him. There was nothing he could say until Ezra had seen for himself.

Finn stumbled, the beast within rising. There was blood in the air.

“Finn, can you control it?”

“Y-yeah. I’m good. I’m good.”

Screams rippled into the night, and Ezra readied his magic, heart tattooing a forlorn pattern against his ribs.

Somewhere to his right the ground shook as if something massive lumbered around. And then he saw it. The thing that had stolen so many Hunters’ lives. It was a patchwork monster, a horrid amalgamation of everything he could think of; human, wolf, this, that and the other. It groaned and hollered, swinging its disproportion arms that dragged around the ground.

“Ez… ra.”

His blood went cold. Lee crawled at the ground trying to pull herself away from the monster. Several of her comrades had fallen, sliced to bits or smashed to a pulp.

“Lee!”

Finn dragged him behind a tree, hand clamped over his mouth.

“Think, Ezra, think! You cannot take on that beast alone!”

“She needs me!”

“You aren’t of any use to her dead.”

He tamed his anger for the moment, but time was precious. The beast drew nearer, arm raised for the final blow.

A cry rang out. Metal clanged, and blue lightning followed.

“You will not take another!”

Magnus disappeared and reappeared in flashes of blue and white, twin daggers cutting it to ribbons. He had drawn the beast’s attention long enough for Ezra to rush in with Finnegan, and haul Lee from the scene.

“Hold on, Lee, I’ve got you.”

“Ez, her wounds—”

“Don’t say it. Do not say it! I can fix this. I can heal her.”

He didn’t even know where to start. Finn was holding her intestines in, with another hand pressed to a gash in her neck. There was too much blood lost, too much damage sustained.

She raised a bloodied hand to his face, eyes watering.

“No, Lee, hang on please. I can’t lose you too.”

“Your… necklace.”

“You can give it to me—”

“No, listen,” she swallowed. “You must… You must get out of Lunaris. We cannot stop… this.”

Anger quickened his blood, and with it his magic roared.

“I will not run.”

“That’s what I said. Oh, how I wish I hadn’t been so… so stubborn.”

Her breath escaped her, and Ezra gritted his teeth. He lowered her body to the ground, and bolted around the tree. He was tired of all this. It would end tonight, one way or another.

A bolt shot out from his hand, and struck the beast dead centre. It yowled and tilted. Ezra hit it again.

And again.

And again.

He’d drain his magic if he’d have to. He’d push his limits to the breaking point.

The beast dropped to its knees. Magnus was not too far, panting, but alive.

He vanished again, and materialised high above the beast. With his weapons drawn, he dropped onto its back, and the daggers plunged into fur and hide, and skin, and bone. Magnus let out a savage grunt, and crisscrossed his blades, slicing through everything in their path.

But at last, its head rolled on the ground, and the rest of it was lifeless.

Ezra swayed on his feet, Finnegan barely caught him.

“Hey, hey. Look at me. Ezra.”

“I’m okay.”

No, he wasn’t.

August had joined the scene, bearing their own wounds and apparent exhaustion. A handful of Hunters remained. The funeral games would last the week.

“Magnus? Ezra? How…”

He shook his head. He’d speak about it in the morning, should the sun rise at all.

  
  
  
  



End file.
